OUR STORY...

Recently...

2010-11-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

Things that make me smile:)

2010-10-08T22:19:00.003-06:00

She has a pirate look:) arrrrrg

Hanna loves when Hal wants to hold her:)

seriously does my life get any better? I get to wake up to this every night I love it!

not sure what to think of all these expressions:) love her

this one I can't stop laughing at ha ha ha so funny:)

Munchkins...

2010-09-21T16:36:00.002-06:00

I know I need to post pictures of my other children, but I can't resist:) I think she is so freakin cute and I can't get enough of her chubby face! Her yawns are my favorite thing in the whole world. My other kids smother her with their love ha ha Halle is always right in her face in fact she starts to fuss when she hears them coming probably because she knows they are going to attack her ha, but I'm sure she will appreciate it soon enough! My mom got her that cute hat and of course I was trying it on her the second we got it. Halle is in preschool and loving it. She is learning so much and doesn't seem to mind being away from me. She asks if she can go everyday. Will is doing good in first grade and soccer. Here is a picture of him and some of the ladies on his team next to their team flag.

Recently...

2010-09-12T22:04:00.004-06:00

Will lost his first tooth this last week and it was so fun to have the tooth fairy come visit he was thrilled since most of his class last year had lost a tooth and he was said he hadn't.

We went up to Mt. Charleston with some friends this last week. It was really nice because it reminded me of Utah:) It was all pine trees and reminded me of the mountains! And it was only like 75 degrees up there. It was a lot of fun!

Yesterday was Will's first soccer game of the season. He did a great job:) It was really hot so by the end he was beat!

recent pictures...

2010-09-10T10:16:00.002-06:00

such a sweetie at 6 weeks sucking that thumb:)

Will started first grade and it went wonderful. He is loving it, but comes very tired everyday:) Halle also started preschool. She has been begging to take preschool for a few years so she was so excited for that day to come. I was trying to just walk her in and she kept telling me to leave ha ha...i have very different children one that at first didn't want me to leave and one that can't wait to be rid of me:) Hanna is growing like crazy, but is still such a great baby.

2010-09-06T10:11:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Rach! I was told I needed to do a shout out to my wonderful sister on her birthday today! I can't even believe she is that old and will be tearing up the roads in 1 year SCARY!! She is such a sweetheart! She is always so helpful with my kids and they love her so much! We were sad we are missing her birthday and wish we could come have birthday cake with her:( but I will be thinking of her today 500 miles away! She has always been such a great example to me of kindness and I always tell her to keep being nice to people even if they are mean to her because that's what will make her most happy and help to survive high school! So, Rach we love ya lots and miss you so much and hope you have the best day of your life today:)! Yesterday was my mom's birthday and my sister in law Wendy's birthday. So a weekend of fun for all! I love my mom so much! She has helped us so much throughout the years and I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without her:) I LOVE LOVE LOVE her so much! She is such an example to me as well. She is coming to see me in October and I am sooooo excited already! I miss you all so much, but love you so much! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL!!!

Swimming:)

2010-08-26T09:50:00.003-06:00

Halle really does enjoy swimming despite the strange face she is pulling:)

This is how we have been spending our time this last week of summer:) It is so nice because I pool is literally right outside our front door so we head there everyday...Will is ready to head back to school, but I'm not sure if I am ready to send him:( It has been a long and stressful summer, but also lots of fun! I thought I would be ready for this summer to be over, but turns out I'm not (now that all the stressful events have passed:)...Halle is not going to know what to do when Will is gone all day and she has to play with me and Hanners:)!

More pics

2010-08-24T11:11:00.002-06:00

My baby looks huge but really she is not:) We took this picture 2 days ago. She is getting big though:(!

2010-08-20T20:34:00.004-06:00

Well we made it to Vegas. Life has been a little crazy this summer. With the bar, a baby, moving, and starting a job:) Fun times! We are enjoying Hanna so much. I feel like she has already gotten so big. She hardly ever cries and is such a wonderful 3rd child. We decided last minute (8/8/10) to bless and it worked out great cause we got to bless her with her cousin Kendall. She was so precious in her blessing dress. My dad was so great to help us move down here and even offered to drive our moving truck(which didn't have AC!!!) down for us. It is definitely hot down here right now. We pretty much just stay in our air conditioned house and then run to our air conditioned car or out to the pool. I wanted to post some recent pictures on here for everyone to see:)!

I took a couple of pictures of Hanna and I thought she was so cute in them I had to post them on here:)

We took the kids to a splash park right near our house today it was so fun!

Hanna is such a stretcher and Halle just happen to snatch a close up of it ha ha

Brooks took Will "REAL" golfing as he says. They were able to rent a cart and had a blast. It got a little hot towards the end:)

More to come...

Hanna is here!

2010-07-27T15:05:00.003-06:00

We had her!! Miss Hanna graced us with her presence on July 23rd at 8:53 p.m.! She was 6 pounds 8 ounces and 21 inches long. She is my smallest baby yet. I want to document the events, but they may be too much for some of you so stop here if so:) I had been having contractions (just little ones) since my Dr. appointment on Thursday but they weren't painful. We both felt like it was going to happen soon but then they subsided. This was not an ideal time for us to have her because Brooks was heading out of town on Sunday morning to go to Nevada to take the bar exam so we were hoping she would come right after he got back, but of course things don't always work out as you plan. In this case they worked out better we were able to have her so he wouldn't have to worry about me oing into labor while he was gone. I woke up on Friday and they started up again and started to get more and more painful. By about 2:30 they were 5 minutes apart and really painful so we headed to the hospital. When I got there I was dilated to a 5 and they checked me in. About an hour later I got my epidural YAY! and life was wonderful from that point on ha ha:) I had to have antibiotics because I was strep b positive so they wouldn't break my water until those were finished. So, at 8:00 they broke my water and I was dilated all the way. Unfortunately my body wasn't having consistent contractions so it was a little tricky getting her out. Brooks and I were starting to get really nervous. At one point Brooks was so stressed he said he was going to be sick and had to sit down. I was about to lose it as well. Everytime I would push she would start to come out, but because I wasn't contracting she would head right back in as soon as I stopped pushing. Finally they decided to use the vacuum on her and he pulled so hard it popped off her head. After SEVERAL pushes she arrived and I couldn't be happier. I forgot how much I love newborns. I am seriously enjoying everything about being the mom of a newborn even being up at night. I am so lucky to be up at 4 in the morning with the cutest thing ever:) My kids didn't know what to think at first. Will wouldn't come by me because he was scared since I was all hooked up to several different things. He quickly warmed up and is loving her too. Halle jumped right up and started kissing and poking her as soon as she saw her. It was really hard to see Brooks leave on Sunday when we checked out of the hospital and head to Vegas! So sad! Luckily my mom was nice enough to come pick us up and drive us to Logan to help me take care of 3 children while he is gone because as I am learning that is a tricky task! We miss him and can't wait for him to come home:) In the meantime I am loving all of my children very much and enjoying the opportunity to be a mom:)

2010-07-14T23:16:00.002-06:00

It has been too long I know...a few weeks ago we took a quick trip down to Vegas to find somewhere to live. The kids were so excited because we got to stay in a hotel with a pool and an arcade! Halle kept saying this hotel is a miracle. It was so cute. We took them swimming, played games, looked for houses(not so fun), M&M factory, Jungle restaurant. It was a very fun for everyone and tiring for me vacation. Will keeps saying he wants to go back to that hotel and stay again...

Happy birthday Will!!!

2010-05-28T08:56:00.002-06:00

Will recently had a birthday (the 25th)! We are so thankful for him. He has been such a joy in my life! He is 6!! Who has a 6 year old am I that old?? He is now done with kindergaten and will be in 1st grade going to school all day what will I do? Oh ya have a newborn ha! I wanted to write down a few things that Will loves to do play baseball, golf, basketball, and soccer. He loves to be outside, loves his Wii:). He loves school. He loves reading. And most of all he loves doing anything with his dad:) He asked for golf clubs, a wii game, his own scriptures, and car dvd players ha ha for his birthday. We love him so much and could not have asked for a better boy. Happy birthday we love ya bud!

Moving on...

2010-05-28T08:43:00.004-06:00

Rosie, Shae, Sharee

Emily, Jana, Katie, Megan

Sharee, me, Amber, Melissa

I'm going to try and update my blog sometime soon I have been so bad lately! Life has gotten a little busy and honestly the last thing I have wanted to do is blog:( but I'm ready to do some:)

I have been filled with several different emotions lately. We are getting ready to move out of our apartment and I am going to miss it dearly! Although I won't miss the cinderblock walls, or the nasty carpet, or the lack of space there are so many things I will miss. I will miss all these ladies so much! I have never loved living somewhere as much as I love the village. I am not ready to grow up I really could stay here forever if everyone else would stay too ha ha:) Katie, Megan, and I are moving out this weekend so we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory and a movie. It was so much fun and I am sooooo going to miss the girls nights out. So thanks ladies for a wonderful year and a half I love you all so much:)!

Soccer

2010-05-04T08:26:00.002-06:00

Will has been playing another round of soccer and has been loving it. He practices in our apartment and outside all the time. Brooks paces the field the whole game and gives him advice it is hilarious:) I have to remind him that Will is only 5! Then there is Halle who escapes and is climbing all over the football equipment the entire game. She keeps herself entertained that's for sure:)

Bee's game!

2010-04-26T19:49:00.005-06:00

A couple weeks ago we were able to go the Bee's home opener game and it was so much fun! We went with our friends Geoff and Sharee:) They are so much fun and we are so grateful to have them as friends. The kids enjoyed sitting on the grass to watch the game. Towards the end of the game they were able to roll down the hill. After the game they had everyone go on the field to watch fireworks. It was such a great time. We will be doing that again very soon:) The only downer was that we got a parking ticket so sad:( but it could have been worse 2 cars were parked on state street and someone ran right into their cars and drove off. So mean, but a great night:)

2010-04-12T16:59:00.002-06:00

Halle has been taking dance this last year and had her final dance class/recital thing...we got to go watch her and it was so fun to see her. She kept watching herself in the mirror while she danced which so her to do that. I can't believe she is in dance already. She loves it and looks forward to it every week. She is such a pretty dancer:)

Feeding the ducks!

2010-04-12T16:38:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago we went to feed the ducks and play at a park and we had such a fun time:) The kids were happy to give the ducks our bread and the ducks were very glad and I'm sure full from eating it...It was great fun as a family can't wait to do it again!

2010-03-22T16:57:00.001-06:00

The results are in.... We are having a little GIRL!!! We are super excited:)

Lately...

2010-03-19T11:27:00.007-06:00

Will played on a basketball team this winter and loved it. This was his second time playing. He gets excited to get a trophy. During the season they get 2 tickets to the Jazz game so Brooks took Will and they went with some of our friends and had a great time:) I was able to go to one of my best friends baby shower in Logan..and got to see Megan, Stacey, Becca, Kara(we missed you in the picture:() it was so much fun!

We also celebrated my beautiful Halle's birthday I still can't beleive she is 4 I remember the night she was born I started having contractions and an hour later my mom picked up my screaming Will and took him while we went to have Hal. She has been such a joy in my life. She has such a fun personality... She has a mind of her own which is such a good quality, but it can be difficult to tell her what to do at times. She says when she grows up she wants to be a cheerleader and a mom. We love her very much! Happy birthday Hal.

I have felt so much better in the last month and now have energy to clean, workout and do more things. We find out Monday what we are having and are really excited for that...stay tuned!

2010-03-08T19:58:00.002-07:00

So funny story... We took our kids to temple square on Valentine's day with some friends and we were walking around enjoying the museum and the grounds. We had just taken this picture and walked downstairs when the annoucer came on and said that the building was now closed and both of my kids start screaming in a panic as loud as they could. They freaked out. It was so sad, but funny all at the same time. They were terrified they were going to have to sleep there and we would be trapped in there. Ever since then they ask me what time every store we go in closes. So cute:)

Dr. Appt

2010-02-17T19:47:00.002-07:00

While I enjoy hearing my babies heartbeat it is a bit of a hassle to go to the doctor this early. You go and wait in the main waiting area and then they get your hopes up when they call you back and weigh you and take your bp and all that good stuff then they stick you in "your room" and you wait again and wait and wait. I kept hearing my doctor in the hall and keep thinking oh he is coming in here next I know and then nothing... it makes me crazy to wait! Then the doctor comes in for maybe 5 minutes and he is gone again:) He makes a lot for 5 minutes I picked the wrong profession ha ha! It is worth hearing the heart beat and all, but really they could just give me the monitor and I'll find it and leave, they can still charge me just don't make me wait forever:) I love my doctor and all, but the waiting kills me and I have only been to 2 appointments ha ha. I better get patient or I'm in trouble:)!

2010-02-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

BABY BENSON COMING AUGUST 2010...

2010-02-02T08:44:00.002-07:00

The other day Will had a basketball game that was so fun to watch. Scott and Darlene came and then we went and had lunch it was so much fun. Will was showing off the whole game it was cute. He kept getting the ball and then instead of shooting close he would look at the floor for the foul line and move back to it to shoot. He did really good but I thought it was funny he wouldn't shoot it right under the basket. After that we went to the mall after and these are my kids reaction to shopping. Will HATES it he gets so bored. Then there is Halle who is trying on everything and loving it. I told Brooks we better watch out for her or we will be broke. The last pictures are some that I thought were cute that Brooks took before Halle went to dance. She looked so cute but he couldn't get her to stop watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to look at him.

#1 Fan

2010-01-18T22:42:00.004-07:00

This post is for my dad who LOVES the U of U! My kids took this picture in the U of U bookstore and just had to share it with him:) Hey at least their not wearing U gear right dad?? Don't worry dad we'll get you some gear! Love ya dad!:)

2010-01-18T22:38:00.002-07:00

We went to Logan for a few days and this is what happens when you try to entertain your children with a camera phone?? They were bored and we had ate all the snacks so this is what we got!

Girls Lunch!

2009-12-30T20:46:00.003-07:00

I got to see these lovely girls over the break and it was great to catch up. They are all wonderful and we had great laughs! Hope to see you all again soon:)

2009-12-28T16:33:00.003-07:00

We had such a fun Christmas! We were able to head to Logan for a few days. We headed up on Wed. and stayed a Brooks' house then and on Christmas eve as well. His mom has a party every year. We ate and the kids dressed up for the nativity. Then we played the good old white elephant game. We woke up and opened presents there. It was a lot of fun! Then we headed to my house so we could tallk to my brother Rob who is in Arizona on his mission. It was fun to talk to him and hear he is doing so good. It made me miss him even more though ha ha! He is such an example to me and I was so happy to hear from him. We were able to eat with my family and enjoy time together. On Saturday I had the chance to meet up with some of my friends from high school and see how they were doing. It was fun to catch up and just see them:) Will got a Wii for Christmas from santa so we had tournaments all weekend ha and it was a lot of fun. I am weak because my arm kept aching after I would play:) I hope next year will be just as fun! Pictures will come soon...

2009-12-17T23:24:00.002-07:00

Will had his Christmas program this morning and it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. They sang a bunch of Christmas songs and did actions along with them. They each had a cute little party they said. They rang bells and wore hats. It was so much fun watching him. While I was sitting there I was thinking about how fast my little man is growing up. Seriously I am sitting there at a Christmas program for my kindergartener?? What am I that old. I love my little man and am having so much fun watching him get big. He is such a good boy and makes me so happy:) Love ya bud you make me so proud!

Update on the munchkins!

2009-12-14T19:54:00.002-07:00

This is what will had Halle wear to be on his team. I thought it was cute. Halle is such a stubborn strong willed child:) She is so much like me it's scarry ha ha! She has the sweetest heart though and can make my day by snuggling with me to watch cartoons! Will started basketball and loves it as much as last year. We love going to watch him play. I love my kiddos:)

NeW mOOn girRlS NiGhT OUT!!

2009-12-02T09:21:00.003-07:00

SOME OF THE GIRLS AT THE MOVIE!
AT DINNER!!

SHAE AND ME STUFFING MY FACE HA HA!

KATIE AND JANA!

A few weeks ago we went to dinner and New Moon with a bunch of my friends and it was so much fun! We went to Olive Garden before and then went to the 10:30 showing. There were 24 of us that went to the movie and 20 that went and ate. I liked the movie a lot better than the first one:) I had a blast and can't wait for when we go in June!! Thanks gals for a great time:)

2009-11-16T23:30:00.002-07:00

My cute monkies in the tub! I don't know how many times I have to tell them not to splash out of the tub, but they never laugh so hard! I have to remember to let them have fun:) Gotta love them:)

HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE:)

2009-11-04T21:17:00.007-07:00

Many of the "Villagers"
CUTE MASK!

TOO TIRED TO WALKL:)

Hot Cocoa Break

Cute dress up

Face Painting

What a great Halloween week we had!! Having kids in school can be so busy ha ha:) We started off our eventful week with a Halloween party in our "village." The kids got to dress up and do crafty things and eat treats. Halle was OF COURSE a princess, but she kept switching each night. That night she was Ariel. Will was Darth Vader. Then on Wednseday Brooks and the kids went to our ward trunk or treat and Halloween party (Halle was Snow White that night:)while I went to a Halloween party at the U that I had to help with:(! The kids got to dress up again! They had a blast and had so many treats we didn't need anymore BUT then on Thursday I helped with Will's class Halloween party which was so much fun. They decorated cookies, made little bags, played games, and colored. THEN on Friday Will had his school parade that he wore his costume AGAIN for and they marched around the gym looking so cute:) We then took them to a trick or treat event at the law school (Halle was Sleeping Beauty oh and Will switched to Iron man this day:) Then the fun continued on Saturday when we went with all our friends to the Fort Douglas trick or treat carnival thing (Halle back to Ariel) which they really enjoyed as well followed by trick or treating at a shopping center near our house wiht more friends! I know you are thinking how much fun can we have in one week?! or how many times can she say Halloween in one post!! Right after all that fun Brooks took off and went to the U of U game and the kids and I went to another party at my friends that was brave enough to host everyone at her house!!! Then, ha ha we took the kids trick or treating (as if they didn't have enough candy already). Will ahd so much fun knocking on doors and running ahead with his friends to get as much candy as he could. It reminded me of my trick or treating days and I got so happy! My body was seriously aching when we got home and I have never slept so good in my entire life!! It was such a awesome week but I have to say I am glad it's over ha ha:) Can't wait til next year:)!

2009-10-26T22:17:00.004-06:00

On Saturday I was gone and apparently this is what they did ha ha! Such fun when dad's in charge:)

Game night:)

2009-10-26T22:10:00.002-06:00

Last week Brooks took Will to a Real Salt Lake game and they had such a fun time:) When they came in they were giving out t-shirts to kids and he was also given a KFC bucket to wear on his head ha ha! He loved it and insisted on keeping it. He is the biggest pack rat. He wants to keep Slurpee cups it is ridiculous, but cute:)

2009-10-21T15:31:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago we took our kids to the Church History Museum and they have a kids section there that they loved. Halle was in heaven with all the babies. They had several activities that they wanted to keep doing. We could have stayed there for hours. It was a lot of fun and we are hoping we can go back soon!

Fall FUN!

2009-10-19T22:05:00.001-06:00

Everyone should check this out! It will be so much fun! Oh and pass the word along please:) funfallboutique.blogspot.com/

Cuteness!

2009-10-06T18:59:00.001-06:00

Look what I get to hang out with everyday from 8:30 to 11 aren't I lucky??

DANCE!!!

2009-09-29T21:18:00.002-06:00

My cute girl started dance and was so excited. We picked out all her clothes and the shoes and she was so happy. I took her the first day and I take her in there and she turns to me and tells me to leave and then come pick her up after. She was more excited for me to leave her ha ha! She seriously looked so cute! I watched her while she twirled and leaped and danced with her teacher and she was so happy. A couple of girls in the class had skirts so of course she wants a skirt now (such a shopper already!!) I love this sweetie. She is such a stubborn girl and by the end of most days we both need a time out, but I wouldn't change anything about her:)

FREE NURSING COVER!!

2009-09-26T09:01:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to spread the word! This website is giving away FREE nursing covers! Put the item you want in your cart, and then put backorder into the discount code box. All you have to pay is the $8.95 for shipping. That is an awesome deal and NO I'm not pregnant I just saw it on someone else's blog and thought I should spread the word!

Let me know if anyone orders one:)

TrIP tO thE ZoO!!

2009-09-21T18:36:00.004-06:00

Tonight for family home evening we went to the zoo and had a great time. We saw the new baby elephant and the baby tigers! They were so cute. I think I loved them more than my kids. It was nice to relax and just hang out. My life seems so busy right now so any moment to hang out is great! Brooks is so busy with work, school, and church it seems like he has no days off so we enjoy the moments together. I can't believe we are almost done with law school it has flown by so fast. It has been one of the best experiences. I love where we live and all the friends we have made. Anyways, not sure why I am writing all this ha ha! Will is loving school and is learning so much. He comes home talking about something new everyday. He loves his teacher she's great. Halle is getting so old. She wants to be in preschool so bad. It is funny how I have one child that didn't want to go to school and one that can't wait:) My kids are so BIG! I love them so much and am enjoying seeing them grow!

Sick day!

2009-09-10T14:33:00.002-06:00

I thought these were cute pictures of my monkeys and wanted to share them. I also have a funny story. Today, Will played sick for school. He woke up and ate breakfast and then said my tummy hurts. I believed him and was like really? Then we started talking about it and I said okay if your tummy is really hurting we can't go to soccer tonight. Then he said well it will be feeling better for soccer. RED FLAG! Then he asks when is school over? I realized he was tricking me! ha ha he is already so much like his dad faking sick to stay home from school:) Needless to say, he went to school:) ha ha what a sweetie though!

HAPPY DAY!!

2009-09-08T18:58:00.002-06:00

SUCCESS!!! I took Will to school today and ran out of the school and he did awesome. He was totally crying when I ran out of the school, but when I came to get him he had soooooo much fun! So when I picked him up we went to Chucky Cheese and spent like $10 in quarters grandma Cindy gave him to go to school and went and picked out a Nerf gun! He was so happy and so was I:) and to add to the greatness he looked so cute in his school clothes:)

ScHooL bOY!!!!

2009-09-02T19:41:00.003-06:00

Will had his first day of school yesterday and was a little scared:) In fact, he wouldn't let me leave! I stayed in the hall the whole time ha ha! I am writing this down because I want to remember this. He was so sad and nervous. It was sad. Today, Brooks got to take him because I wasn't sure my patience could handle it:) He is such a sweetheart. I told him I would let him pick any toy he wants if he will go by himself. Hopefully that brib will work. He has been taking his bath at night and I have been letting him pick out his clothes for the next day. It is fun to see him so big. His teacher is so nice. After school he told Brooks he wants to ride the bus like his friends, but now at night he has decided he doesn't want to do that:) We are hoping he will be confident enough to go soon! I love him and have had mixed emotions about him going to school. I am worried to send my little 5 year old out in the world by himself. On the other hand, I am super excited for him to make friends, learn lots, and just have fun! He is growing up so fast and I want to enjoy and be able to laugh about these fun days! He is such a handsome boy in these pictures!

RAGING WATERS!!!

2009-08-24T20:55:00.003-06:00

On Friday we had such a fun time at Raging Waters:) I got to take the kids and we had a blast. We went down the slides, played in the kiddie pool, and rode around on the lazy river. The kids loved everything. Thanks kiddos for being so good while we were there and having so much fun with mom:)

Another girls day!!

2009-08-17T22:36:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I am doing another girls day! It will be on Saturday August 22 at 2370 North 1250 East in North Logan(my moms house)! My friend Shae is coming to do glitter toes (only $15 a STEAL)! She will also have some Scentsy stuff there! I will also have some of my bead watches, jeans, and Juicy suits! It will be so fun so seriously, come and have fun PLEASE! Come even if I haven't seen you in a while, or you are just looking at my blog whatever just come!

Pictures!

2009-08-02T22:50:00.007-06:00

As I am sitting awake with Halle because she keeps coughing I wanted to put a couple cute pictures of my kiddos on here:)

Total rambling:)

2009-07-30T10:40:00.004-06:00

The boys are going to a Jazzercise class after the game!

I have been the worst blogger mostly because I currently do not have a camera so I don't want to post without pictures, but I wanted to document some fun things that have been going on. Last night we were able to meet up with some old friends (Matt Clark, Seth Ellison, and Josh and Cristy Wiser) to go to the MLS all star game. It was so much fun visiting and watching the game even though they lost:(! Those guys always tell the same jokes and still laugh so hard at them and that makes me laugh:) Our good friends Amber and Craig were there and Chris and Celeste. They are so cute and fun! Amber took these pictures and was kind enough to send them to me:) Last week I finished my first marathon! I was super excited when it was finally over and I had actually survived:) I will post pictures later. My awesome friends Margaret and Amber helped me train for it. They picked me up at 3:20 a.m. to head to load the bus. We went up the mountain and waited for the race to start. It was one of the hardest things physically that I have ever done. I wasn't sure I was going to make it at mile 20, but with the encouragement of my family I was able to push through the end. Luckily it wasn't too hot until the last 4 miles. I got super thirsty and hungry at the end too. When I got done all I wanted to do was eat ha ha! Thanks to Brooks for supporting me and helping me with the kids while I trained and for coming to the marathon he is the best husband ever. My kids thought I was cool so that made me happy:) I love them all so much! Also, thanks to my family for coming as well it was so helpful to see people cheering me on. My parents stayed the night before to come cheer me on! They are always so supportive as well! I love all of you guys so much!! I was really sore the next 2 days, but seemed to be okay after that:) The rest of Pioneer day was spent taking a 4 hour nap then we took the kids to the movie and then watched some fireworks from East High School. Then, on Saturday we spent the day at a Soccer Tournament and then at Brooks dad's house with them which we always have a great time at! We went to dinner and then we did fireworks which the kids LOVED! We have had such a busy summer and are so bummed it is almost over. I can't believe both my boys are headed to school this year SCARY!!! I am super excited Brooks is starting his 3rd year I am so proud of him! He always works so hard and it always pays off! Will is so big SAD!! He will love it though so I am excited for him too! Anyways, I am just rambling on and on now but I wanted to document some fun things going on in life right now:)

GIRLS NIGHT OUT!!

2009-07-13T09:48:00.001-06:00

Hey Girls,

Some friends of mine and I are having a girls night out on July 16th, @ 6:00 p.m.
We are going to have: Scentsy candles, Jeans, Beaded watches, Glitter Toes, and lots of fun! It will be an open house and desert will be served. Come and get some fun things at a good price or just enjoy having a night out with the girls hope to see you there and feel free to bring a friend:)
Here is the address:
626 Perry's Hollow Rd SLC, UT 84108. Leave a comment if you have any questions!

MARATHON PREP!!

2009-07-12T16:43:00.003-06:00

This is it I have been wanting to do this for a long time and I am finally going to do it:) On Saturday morning we ran 20.8 miles. We only have 2 weeks left until the marathon and I am super excited. We are going to do the Deseret News marathon on the 24th of July! We were able to run the first 20 miles of the actual race. I am having a hard time walking today, but it was still fun. When I woke up this morning I didn't think I was going to be able to make it to church because my legs were so stiff:) I woke up at 4:00 in the morning on Saturday to meet Margeret and Amber to venture up the canyon. We missed Kristen who was going to do the race with us, but is now moving:( As we were running I kept asking myself what I was thinking!! It was dark when we started running and finally got light after some miles. I was afraid we were going to run into some animals. We saw a porcupine, chipmunk, and deer. Once there was some noise and Amber and I jumped nearly off the road(I think it was a cricket ha ha)! We missed our first water stop because it was dark and we were talking. I am so excited to accomplish something I have been wanting to do forever. I hope it will be the first of many! I know this is a super sweet picture of me! It is right after we ran and we didn't have anyone to take our picture so we had to take it ourselves. ha ha HOT I know:)

BIG BOY BIKE:)

2009-06-26T22:01:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to document for myself that Will is riding his bike without training wheels and I am so happy. He has tried it a couple of times, but didn't show much interest in it until today. He saw one of his friends riding and decided he wanted to do it. So, I helped him a couple of times and then off he was. He loved it. Two of his other friends recently learned as well. This is silly to most of you, but I am super happy about it:) I will post pictures soon...

Some of Island Park:)

2009-06-22T21:18:00.009-06:00

Such a sweet face:)

I LOVE this picture:) What cuties!

Some of the family around the campfire!

Who is the worst blogger for the month of June? ME!! I know. We have been crazy busy this month. Between work, church, trips, and BBQ's we haven't had a moment to relax:) It has been so much FUN:) We just got back from a trip with my family to Island Park. We went and stayed in my brother-in-laws cabin and had a blast. We went fishing, hiking, crossed tretorous water:), ate WAY to much ice cream, went running, played way too much cards, and just had some quality bonding time! Will got to go fishing on the boat with all the boys early in the morning and had so much fun. We went on a hike to secret lake in Montana and he was able to catch a fish with the help of Brooks of course:) It is so beautiful there! We stayed up until 2:30 in the morning playing cards each night and it was so much fun. The kids rode the train around the yard. Halle loved the swing and could have stayed there forever. Will conquered his Playstation Spiderman game. He won every level and finished the game. He was so proud of himself it was cute:) We cooked smores on the fire ( YUM my favorite)! I need to get running with all the junk I ate ha ha! This was an excellent trip and I LOVE spending time with family there's nothing better! Brooks had a good time off of work hanging out with us and it was so nice to have him relax and just hang out:) This is seriously Will's favorite place to be and he is already talking about going back. His only complaint was the drive and when we were getting ready to leave he asked me if there was a shorter way to go home!

Rach crossing the river:)

Grandma and Hal finding worms!

Jenn and Jim

The fish Will caught!!

Wendy, Gabe, and Persy:)

Golfing! (My first time ever and yes I pretty much sucked!)

Will doing some early morning fishing on the boat!

More pics to come...

Cute pictures!

2009-06-01T08:49:00.004-06:00

Cute pics from Landon's wedding:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!!!

2009-05-26T09:24:00.003-06:00

So, holy cow I have a 5 year old are you kiddin me!!! Will turned 5 yesterday:) He had such a good birthday. So many people were so generous and he really appreciated everything! The hit present was my brother Rob gave him a playstation he found at the D.I. and then bought cords, controls, and games online for him. He has seriously been playing it ever since:) Thanks to everyone:) We love you guys!

Will is such a special boy to us and here is just a few reasons why:

-He has the most tender heart

-He is the best big brother

-He is the best sharer

-He helps me soooooo much with anything I ask him

-He loves games just like his mama!

-He lets his little sis boss him around

-He is terrified of being left alone:)

-He ALWAYS wakes up happy

-He looks (super cute) and acts just like his dad(both are soooooo stubborn)

-He loves to be outside all the time

-He is so smart and has the best memory

-He has always had the cutest smile that makes my heart melt

I gave him the same quiz I did with Halle

1. Favorite color? Red, blue, and sometimes he likes white

2. Favorite dinner? Sausage and pancakes and rice

3. Favorite movie? Madagascar and Bedtime Stories

4. Favorite game? James Bond and every game

5. Favorite parent? Mom definitely (ha ha anybody that knows Will knows it will always be Brooks)

6. Favorite superhero? Spiderman

7. Favorite song? Go to church song (I have no idea what this is:)

8. Favorite sport? Soccer and basketball and every sport

9. Favorite thing to do? Go to the mall and play games

10. Favorite animal? Zebra

11. Favorite number? 10

12. Favorite letter? Z

Will we love you so much and can't imagine life without you. My life changed forever the day I had you and wouldn't trade it for anything:) You are the sweetest, happiest boy I know. You will be the best example and big brother to all your siblings! I honestly couldn't have been more blessed when I got you. I love you SOOOOOO MUCH!!

Working out!

2009-05-17T16:43:00.002-06:00

The other day when I got home from running this was what I found. Brooks was working out and the kids wanted to be just like him. He wears a bandana and so they were too! Halle forgot clothes I guess:) She will love these pictures one day I'm sure. You know my kids never clothed! I thought it was cute. They were doing pull-ups and push ups. Will wanted to show everyone how big his muscles are:)

SOCCER GAME:)

2009-05-11T22:32:00.003-06:00

Last week we took the kids to the Real SL soccer game. It was so much fun! This first picture is what I got when I told Halle to smile. Ha ha I thought it was pretty cute:) We sat up top at first and then our friends Craig and Amber ended up having us come sit by them. It was way fun and we hope to go again soon!

2009-05-03T14:14:00.003-06:00

We had a fun filled week! We went to the zoo, we played outside, played with friends, and got Will registered for Kindergarten YEAH!! I can't believe he is that old:) He wasn't sure about the whole thing, but he was excited once we left ha ha! The school is super nice and he was excited about his classroom. I took these pictures this week of my kiddos and wanted to post them for the fan club:) My mom reminds me on a daily basis to put pictures of my kids on the blog so here ya go:)

We brought quarters to feed the ducks!

Will choking Hal:) Wills favorite thing to see at the zoo is the snakes. I just hope he never asks for one because the answer will always be NO WAY!!

Cute pictures and funny story:)

2009-04-28T21:12:00.003-06:00

My mom found this dress for Halle and she absolutely LOVES it. I do too! I think it is so cute. Will went and got her Ariel hair so she could look just like the Little Mermaid!
Okay this is my kids being silly:) Also, I had a funny story I wanted to remember. The other day Will came out in his camo pants and camo jacket. A side note to this story every time he wears this combo which he wants to wear a lot Brooks asks him if he is going hunting with grandpa Ken because my dad loves camo. So anyways, Will comes out and Brooks starts talking and Will says I know dad yes I'm going hunting with grandpa Ken. I couldn't stop laughing and I thought it was so cute:)

2009-04-20T07:12:00.002-06:00

Nothing much has been going on lately so I decided to post silly pictures of my kids riding the scooter together. My mom is always requesting pictures. She said she never reads anything just looks at the pictures:) We were outside ALL weekend and it was so nice. Will had a soccer game on Saturday and now Brooks is playing on a soccer team so our Saturday's are spent with soccer:) I am super excited for the nice weather and plan on being outside most of the week as well. I hope it stays nice:)

2009-04-13T21:28:00.004-06:00

Ha ha like Halle's morning pose:)

Will cheesin it as usual:)

We had a great Easter! On Friday night we went to our friends house and the kids dyed Easter eggs and we got to hang out it was lots of fun! Then on Sunday my parents and Rach decided to come visit us for Easter, which was sooooo nice:) Thanks guys! We ate, hung out, and went to the park:) We went to Liberty Park and we didn't know everyone would be there too. It was so crowded and there was a hippy party going on. It was definitely an interesting crowd. Some kid walked up and threw cereal right in my face, which was fun ha ha! We fed the ducks and walked around the park. We were all so happy they came down! And of course my camera died after I took like 2 pictures so sorry not a lot ha ha! Happy Easter a little late!

Cute Kiddos!

2009-04-06T07:31:00.002-06:00

One of the days last week it snowed and the kids begged me to take them out to play in the snow and this was the result of that:) They had a great time sliding and throwing snow balls at me! If there is any snow on the ground Will has to throw snow balls. It is especially fun when some of the snow has melted and it gets cold and freezes and become ice and he throws them at me:) I love their smiles in these pictures (they make me so HAPPY)!

PICTURE PRINCESS!!

2009-03-30T11:47:00.010-06:00

I think my Halle is the picture princess because she is not only the cutest girl ever, but she is the sweetest, most spunky girl I know. She is always singing, dancing, and performing. In the morning she will pick a princess dress, wear it all day, and then still want to sleep in it at night. She lets me take pictures of her and they always turn out perfect. The first picture expresses her personality perfectly! I love every bit of this girl and think she is the picture perfect gal!

Little girls and girls dresses from Shabby Baby

http://www.shabbyapple.com/p-302-fields-of-gold.aspx

DENTIST DAY!

2009-03-23T23:10:00.004-06:00

My kids went to the dentist today for a checkup (no cavities wahoo!!) I was a little worried that some of our treat runs would come back to haunt me ha ha! They both did awesome and just sat there and did everything they asked it was great! They got to choose a "prize" and choose mustaches and I thought they were so funny! Will has his on upside down ha ha cuties!

2009-03-20T11:44:00.003-06:00

We took Halle and Will to Disney on Ice for her birthday and they had so much fun! Halle was mesmerized by The Little Mermaid. I thought she was going to cry:) It was so cute. Will had fun too! He wasn't as into it as Halle, but he still had fun! She wore her Sleeping Beauty dress there and wasn't the only one. There was like a million little girls in their cute dresses. The night before we took them to see the movie Bedtime Stories and Will thought it was the funniest show ever. He kept laughing about the little man running up and kicking him in the leg:) All week he has told me about it and then ran up and kicked me ha ha! Here are some pictures from her birthday! It was super fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAL!!!

2009-03-13T22:31:00.010-06:00

WARNING: This is a super long post that is mostly for my memories sake. If you don't want to read I won't be offended, but if you do read on:)

I can't believe my baby is now 3!! WHAT! Where has time gone?? I remember going to the hospital to have her and now I am sitting here writing about this. I am so sad that time has gone so fast and that one day I will be sitting here writing about her 18th birthday and be saying the same thing. She has been so special in our lives and here are some reasons why:

She is sooooooo energetic and happy!

She has the BEST imagination ever!

She can entertain herself for 4 hours with just 2 plastic dinosaurs or a simple box (anything really can entertain this girl).

She is soooooo bossy especially to Will. He better watch out he will totally have a second mother all his life.

She cares so much about her babies! She will be a great mom one day:)

She wants to be just like her brother all the time.

She has crazy hair most of the time!

She always eats more than her big brother.

She is the best singer and dancer I know:)

She has the cutest smile ever!

She is a great sharer.

She loves to read books with me.

She gives the biggest wettest kisses and I LOVE THEM!

Will and I gave her a quiz (Will helped come up with the questions) and here is what she had to say:

1. Favorite color? Red

2. Favorite dinner? Noodles

3. Favorite movie? Peter Pan

4. Favorite game? Hide n' Seek

5. Favorite friend? Kyler (Will's friend ha ha)

6. Favorite princess? Belle

7. Favorite song? Twinkle Twinkle

8. Favorite sport? Motorcycles (what???)

9. Favorite thing to do? Go get treats (mine too)

10. Favorite animal? Dinosaur

11. Favorite number? 8

12. Favorite letter? P

I love her more than I can even say and can't imagine my life without her. She means the world to me and I hope she continues to be my sweet little girl. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Halla I love you sooooooooo MUCH!!

OUR SUPER FUN WEEK:)

2009-03-10T15:15:00.003-06:00

We have been sick all week. It first started with Brooks having a cold then he went out of town and Will was sick while he was gone. Then he came home and Will caught his cold:) Then Brooks started to get better and got sick again. Then, I thought I was in the clear and I ended up getting sick as well. Ha ha such fun!! Halle has yet to be sick, but I am sure she will get it probably just in time for her birthday:) If I don't feel better soon I am going to yank my hair out. I have been taking NyQuil at night and it gives me nightmares. I watched the show Medium last night and had a dream about the episode except it was happening in North Logan and I was in it. I have had a different nightmare every night since I started taking it. I think I will try going without it tonight and see if I can get some restful sleep. Hopefully we will be a little more upbeat the next time I blog and hopefully I will have something better to blog about as well:) Those pictures are of where Will has been all week and Halle and I being silly(that picture makes my head look huge ha ha)!!

2009-03-02T08:35:00.003-07:00

The kids and I spent the weekend alone because Brooks had to go to Portland. We had a pretty fun time. It was so boring at times, but we tried to make the best of it. We all had super bad colds. We were coughing all night long. Luckily, my parents decided to come see us on Saturday to watch Will's last basketball game and then they took Will and Halle to McDonald's for a happy meal and Rachel and I got to do a little shopping then we got to go eat at Caputo's yum yum. Thanks guys for coming it was super fun! Yesterday, at church was kind of tricky. I decided he is not allowed to go out of town during stake conference again. Two hours is a long time for my kids to sit still. They were all over the place. Will kept asking me when it was going to be over and telling me that he was sooooooo tired. Then when we left he said wow that was a really long church:) Luckily he came home last night. We missed him:)

SUMMER FUN!!

2009-02-21T09:09:00.002-07:00

YEsterday we had such a great day! We started the day off going swimming at the pool with my friend Shae and her kids and it was so much fun. They had a slide there that Will thought was so fun! He kept going and when I would catch him at the bottom he would go under water for a second and then he would say he just drowned. Then, we decided to go walk around Gateway for a little while and let Will play games at the ghetto arcade! He loves playing there. Then with the tickets he won he got some water balloons IN WINTER but we filled them up and he and Halle threw them outside our apartments and they laughed so hard. It was so FUN! We can't wait for summer so we can do all these things all the time. It will be so great!! Can't wait:)

The Result of JuMPiNg oN ThE bED!!

2009-02-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

Halle is such a trooper. The other night while going to bed she came out and was a little teary eyed and said I bumped my face and it was just a little lump on her face and this is what we got the next day:) With how crazy she is I am sure it is the first of many:) Another funny thing Halle did this morning was when I layed by her and tried to snuggle and she said I not your teddy bear! I couldn't stop laughing and I thought it was so cute! I will be sad when I can't snuggle with my kids one day because they won't let me:(

We also got to watch Persy the other day and we had a great time. My kids love her and enjoy trying to make her laugh. She is sooooooo cute and has the cutest smile ever, but I couldn't get her to smile for this one:( We also got to got to the temple on Saturday to see them get sealed and that was an awesome event that I was so happy to be a part of!

SiLLy PIcTUreS!!

2009-02-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Things I want to remember:)

2009-01-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

Halle got into my jewelry box the other day and this is what ended up happening. Then yesterday she fell asleep on the couch and I didn't realize she was laying on the remote(bad mom I know:(! So we had to take a picture of the buttons imprinted on her face. Not very comfy!

I also wanted to write down something Will said on Sunday. The music director in Primary came up to me after church and said Will was answering all the questions in Primary today. She said they asked what faith was and nobody answered so Will raised his had and said "faith is things that are hoped for, but not seen" I about died that he answered it that way. He has the best memory and I am not sure where he remembered that from, but we were laughing that he did:) She said they asked another question and I can't remember what she said it was, but he raised his hand and said when our little sister takes our toy we can be nice and share. Ha ha at least he knows that is what he is supposed to do it doesn't mean he always does it, but I was happy he knew what he should do:) My kids are getting too big SAD!!

Halle's new best friends!!

2009-01-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

Darlene(my mother-in-law) had her 50th birthday yesterday so for her birthday she flew her kids out for her party. Her son Isaac has 2 little girls named Katie and Taylor. From the first moment Halle played with them she LOVED them. She has been talking about them ever since. She calls them her friends. She loves playing with girls because she usually has to play whatever Will and Ethan want to play. Needless to say we have played with them everyday since they have been here. My kids cry every time we have to leave. Halle has been begging me to let her sleepover. I think I would miss her too much to do that. Yesterday we went sledding with them since Brooks didn't have school so I was able to get some pictures from that. The first picture is Halle after the sledding. She was pooped! I don't know what Halle will do when they leave. I guess she will have to enjoy following Ethan and Will around playing Spiderman ha ha:)

2009-01-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to remember that Will had his first talk today and did a great job. He talked on being a spirit child of a Heavenly Father. He wasn't even afraid to get in front of everyone in Primary. He just stood right up and gave his talk (with my help). I can't even beleive he is old enough to be giving a talk. He is growing up so fast:( He was so proud of himself when he finished and so was I. It was cute!

2009-01-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Will started Junior Jazz and had a great time. He scored 8 points and played so good. He was trying to block and steal the ball from the other kids and it was so funny. We were so happy that he liked it so much and is already praying everyday that he will do good in his next basketball game on Saturday.

2009-01-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

A little while ago we had the pleasure of having Megan Buck's little boy over to play so that they could go to a concert and this was me trying to get 3 wild children ready for bed! They had a great time together. It was really nice to see Megan and Brandon for a minute and get to play with Xander. My kids had a blast. I think they laughed the entire time they were together. They were jumping on the bed and running through my small house. I hope we can someday do it again!

MIA!!

2008-12-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have been a little missing in action I know but we have been in Logan enjoying our families:) We had an awesome Christmas and here are a few pictures from our little vacation. (BEWARE OF PICTURE OVERLOAD)!! HA HA

2008-12-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

My cute boys!!

WHAT CUTE KIDS I HAVE:)

We went to see the Christmas lights on temple square last week and it was so pretty and fun.

SNOW FUN!!

2008-12-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today we went outside and played in the snow and had a great time. We went sledding on the hill by our house and the kids had so much fun. There were some other kids sledding so Will tried to race them down the hill. There were some apartment windows at the bottom of the hill so Will hit the building a few times. I thought he was going to get going so fast and go through the window at the bottom. I had to teach him to put his hands down at the bottom to slow himself down. Halle was all bundled up in some old snow clothes that didn't fit her. It was so cute. She would sit on the front of the sled and Will on the back and cruise down the hill together. Then she decided she was too cold so she went in the house with Brooks and Will and I stayed out and sled together. We raced and just had a great time:) What a fun day in the snow. I think we will even have to go out later today again once we all dry out!!

HAPPY B-DAY BROOKS LATE!!

2008-12-03T01:33:00.001-07:00

Brooks had his birthday on Thanksgiving this year and I never got to do a highlight post for him because of my silly computer not working so I am doing it on his:) late at night! He is the big 28 and I have been reminding him of this day for like 3 months and telling him he is 28 already. So, I thought I would post things that make Brooks great:
1. He is super generous with everything!
2. He is the best dad ever. Our kids adore him.
3. He works hard at everything he does and everything always works out for him.
4. He is my best friend and we can totally tell what the other is thinking at any moment. I swear he can read my mind. Like the other day he had a feeling to plug our house phone in and then 30 seconds later I called him! Crazy I know.
5. I drive him crazy on a daily basis and somehow he puts up with me:)
6. He is so calm and relaxed all the time even when he has big finals coming up he never gets worked up (like me).
He is great and I hope he has more than 28 more good (that didn't sound right??) years to give me. This post will be embarrassing for him so I will keep it short, but I love you soooooooo stinkin much and so do Will and Hal and we are so HAPPY! Happy Birthday!!!

MY FAMILY

2008-11-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

We had these family pictures taken a couple months ago and I thought they turned out so good. They still need to be touched up and parts fixed and cut out, but I still thought they looked so cute!

FUNNY PICTURE

2008-11-13T02:40:00.000-07:00

So, when we first moved into our apartment we accidentally had left some clothes at Brooks dad house and forgot about them. When we woke up on Sunday morning we realized Brooks didn't have any of his clothes. We were lucky enough to find this shirt that had too short of sleeves and some pants he never wears. He had no ties but he was able to borrow one from Will. He threw a sweater over it all and all you could see was the shape of the tie underneath and how short it was. It was sooooo funny I had to capture it:) HA HA

2008-11-12T02:56:00.000-07:00

Silly Stacey tagged me so here goes:

What is your husband's name? Brooks
How long have you been married? 5 years
How long did you date? 1 year
How old is he? 27
Who eats more sweets? Me definitely! He is more of a salty man.
Who said "I love you" first? He did.
Who is taller? Brooks unless it is Sunday and I am wearing heals than we could be close.
Who can sing the best? It is scary either way:)
Who is smarter? Brooks definitely! I would have never even made it through the 1st week of law school!
Who pays the bills? I do and it drives me crazy! I always want him to take over, but it would drive me crazy not to know where all our money goes.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me in this apartment. If our bed is against a wall Brooks has to sleep next to the wall so our last apartment he slept on the right
Who mows the lawn? Neither thank heavens it is a good thing we have a gardener ha ha
Who cooks dinner? I do Brooks is way too busy, but he loves to give me tips on how to cook things the right way:)
Who drives? Brooks because he says I am a bad, but I am an even worse back seat driver:)
Who kissed who first? Probably Brooks:)
Who asked who out first? He did. We hung out at Aubrey's and then he asked me out after he found out I was super cool HA HA!
Who wears the pants? I think it is about equal. He would for sure say he does

I TAG: Amy, Taiya, and Wendy ( YOU ALL BETTER DO IT:)

2008-11-09T03:07:00.000-07:00

Well I am back from my trip to Florida. I was asked to do a project with Icon and decided to go. I was able to have my mom come stay a lot of the time here with my kids (thanks again mom and to Wendy and Michelle) for helping me out. I immediately was able to get along and enjoy the ladies I went there with. They all made me laugh so hard and it seemed like we were all the same age and had been friends forever. It was great. I have to say the best part of the trip was being able to go to Nordstroms and we got to go shopping and just pick whatever we wanted (and get it approved). Everyone spent like $600 on their outfit and they bought it for us for the project. One lady got a $900 outfit. It was like a dream to pick out what you wanted and not even look at the price. We also had to have this awesome airbrush spray make up that took like 5 seconds to apply. I need one for my house!!We flew out on Monday and had to stop in Atlanta. Then we loaded another plane to Tampa. It was cold there the first few days and then it warmed up. We sat around most of the time, but on the last day I was able to go to some beaches and see how beautiful it was. WOW! I am going to take Brooks and the kids back to Clearwater beach someday:) It was beautiful!!! The sand looked and felt like powdered sugar. I was able to eat great food every night. I even got to sit in a cold hot tub. Our hotel was a little old and not that nice and apparently there hot tub was broken so it was not that great. I was so happy to see Brooks and the kids when I got back. Thanks Brooks for encouraging me to go, he is the best:) It was a great time and it made me so ready to get back and enjoy life here. Thanks everyone for helping and all the ladies for helping me have a great time!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T09:56:00.000-06:00

We had a great Halloween. The kids looked so cute and they got lots of candy. We went out to Brooks dad's house where Darlene was of course dressed up, which the kids thought was great. We got to carve their pumpkins. Will wanted an Ironman pumpkin so Brooks got to try to figure out how to do that! Then we went trick or treating around his neighborhood. Halle caught on quick and ended up telling me she wanted more houses and she would push her way to the front of the pack at every door. It was so funny. Then she would say trick or treat really sweet and cute. Will would run ahead of us just to hurry and get to the next house. Then they were pooped and wanted to quit. Halle wouldn't let anyone have any of her candy. If I asked her for a peice she said no my candy. Will was so tired by the end. We went to our friends Jamie and Ryan's house for a party and it was super fun too. The kids got to play while we visited and ate. We had a great Halloween and the kids can't wait for next year. Will asked on the ride home if we could go again tomorrow. I laughed. I took those pictures on the ride home. Halle didn't have her other clothes off yet in the last picture, but it was still cute. I thought they were so cute!

2008-10-31T11:29:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday we went to boo at the zoo along with everyone else in Salt Lake and it was really fun. Seriously there was so many people there. Will wanted to be Spiderman which was last years costume instead of his Ironman costume. We rode the carousel and had a great time. These were the pictures I took.

2008-10-29T22:02:00.000-06:00

It's official after 5 and 1/2 years of marriage I finally changed my name to Benson WAHOO!! It has taken me that long to go and actually get it done(pretty sad it has taken me that long I know), but now it is done:)

CRaZY RAnDom PosT

2008-10-24T03:05:00.001-06:00

We finally got into our apartment after waiting forever. We are soooo appreciative of Brooks dad for letting us stay there with them. Brooks went up to Spokane and his dad ended up flying last minute with him to help him and Brooks was sure glad. They had to end up leaving Brooks weight bench there because it wouldn't fit. He just left it outside. Our apartment manager called us and said they were going to charge us like $200 if we didn't get somebody to move it. So, I called Jessica and Sam in Spokane and they were going to haul it off for us (thanks again:), but they went to pick it up and it was gone. Somebody had stolen it, which worked out great for us:) On the drive back to Utah Brooks said the truck was so full the mud flaps were dragging on the road. The truck was swaying back and forth the whole way. His dad ended up driving most of the way, which Brooks didn't complain about. We were able to unpack everything in our apartment and get thing put away and after a trip to IKEA we are all moved in. These apartments will be great because they are so close to school and there are so many young students here that are in our ward. I had my 25th birthday on Monday (OLD I know:( and it was pretty uneventful, but we did get to go to dinner with Brooks dad and Darlene. It was super fun. Halle has started performing. She will start singing Little Mermaid songs and dance with her Build a Bear mermaid bear and throw her hands in the air while singing at the top of her lungs. It is soooo cute. It is my favorite thing she does right now. Will has been a little sick all week. He was so tired and weak. I felt so bad for him. BUT we are all in good health now and enjoying our new house. Here are a few random pictures of our apartment. Oh and sadly my flat iron went kapooie today and is no longer working:( I am crying right now! HA HA

Halle so cute sleeping after a long day!

My cute new bookshelf and my lovely cinder block walls! YEAH

My favorite thing I bought was this for above Halle's bed. I still need to get their room all decorated, but it should be cute.

SUPER LONG POST!!

2008-10-11T10:53:00.000-06:00

We have had quite a good week except Will getting stung by a bee. We were at the post office on Monday and I was getting Halle out of the car when he started screaming that a bee had just stung him and people started looking at us like I had just hurt him. Only about 5 seconds later his eye started to swell pretty big. By the end of the day it had made his nose swell a little. It was seriously swollen for 3 days. Luckily the swelling is gone now:) We also got to go to the REAL soccer game. It was the opening game in the Rio Tinto stadium. It was an awesome stadium. It was fun because they did a big production for the national anthem with fireworks. The kids got a little restless after a while, but considering they did really well. It was great except for the fact that it was freezing cold and Brooks and his dad got in a yelling match with the entrance guy!! His dad had bought the tickets online and it didn't say anything about the age requirements on there so we didn't get Will one. Well when we got there Will ran in and the guy said he had to have a ticket. Then the fun began. His dad started getting mad saying that it didn't say we needed a ticket for him if he was going to sit on our laps. Anyways Brooks didn't get mad until I asked the guy how we could get a ticket if it was sold out and then guy started getting close to me and talking over me and that is when Brooks got a little irritated. Needless to say Darlene left and came back with a free ticket. That was fun:) The only other thing was that it went from 70 to 40 degrees overnight:( Then on Friday Brooks and I got to go on a date, which doesn't happen very often. We went out with our friends Jamie and Ryan and saw the movie Eagle Eye and got a bite to eat. The show was like the most action packed movie I have seen in forever. We had a great time and decided we needed to go out more often especially now that our kids are a little bit older. Thanks to Brooks dad and Darlene for watching them. We really appreciated it. Most of the week was great and we look forward to next week when we can get some of our stuff back from Spokane and finally have some winter clothes since it might be below 0 at this rate:)

GREAT WEEKEND!

2008-10-05T22:27:00.000-06:00

We went to Body Worlds 3. It was super interesting and fun to see. It was a little weird at first to see the bodies on display, but it was super interesting. I thought it was awesome to see all the muscles and how complex the body is. I thought it was so interesting to see the insides of the body. It made me want to be healthier when I saw what can happen to your body if you don't take care of it. They have a camel that is on display like the human bodies and it was neat to see the inside of the camel too. It was sooooo rainy that we were all soaking wet by the time we were able to see it. Before we went to the exhibit we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory and ate. It is always a fun restaurant. Then of course conference is always my favorite because it is always so uplifting and great to here from the leaders of the church. I am always ready to try and do so much better with so many things after hearing conference and it really makes me realize all the things I need to work on.
These first pictures were so interesting to me. It is real lungs the first one is the lungs of a nonsmoker and the second is the lungs of a smoker. It seriously made me sick, but at the same time I thought it was soooo interesting! (I think I said interesting at least 10 times in this post!!)

CIRCUS FUN

2008-09-28T22:25:00.000-06:00

We got to go to the circus last night and had a blast. We went with Brooks family. Then we ended up seeing my brother there and him and his girlfriend came and sat by us too. The kids loved all the animal parts and the dancing they did. The kids loved everything except the clowns. Everytime they came out they said is it almost time to go and then the next act would come out and they were so excited. The clowns act was a little lame I must say, but they tried hard and some of it was funny. My favorite part was the elephants. The elephants looked so much cleaner than you see at the zoo. They were actually gray instead of a brownish color they always are when I go to the zoo. I was amazed that they can train those animals to do so many things. I thought the tiger trainer was crazy to be in a cage with 7 tigers, but I was glad it was him not me. I also loved the motorcycle riders in the steel globe. They raced around with 7 motorcycles in there and I couldn't figure out how they weren't crashing into each other. I of course forgot my camera and didn't get any pictures, but we had a great time and hopefully we can do it again sometime soon! Thanks everybody for a great time:)

Soccer Part 2!

2008-09-22T08:52:00.000-06:00

Will was such an animal in his game this last Saturday. I wanted to write it down so I don't forget. He was chasing the ball the whole time and was so aggressive. It is so fun to watch him learn how to play and enjoy doing it. He scored the only 2 of the 3 goals and they won the game. YEAH! Brooks hasn't stopped talking about it. It was great:)

SOCCER MAN!!

2008-09-15T21:30:00.000-06:00

We started Will in soccer and it has been so fun to watch him play. He loves the number 10 for no reason really, but he loves it. He even told me he had a dream he went to his team meeting and got number 10 and it had Fruity Pebbles all over it. So, when we went to the team meeting I knew I had to get him number 10. We got there a few minutes late and somebody was taking number 10 and I had to ask them if I could have that jersey because my son was dreaming about the number 10. Luckily we got it. His first game was on Saturday and I think Brooks has waited since he was born to get him into some sports. He scored a goal at the beginning of his game and got super into it then during the middle of the game he kind of got a little bored with it and then with some coaching by his dad he finished hard. Brooks was pacing the field yelling things to do and finally he had to stop yelling because Will was just watching him and not being able to play. It is so fun to watch him play and let him get some energy out. We told him he could get a dollar a goal so he is super pumped to score some goals to get a guy. We are good parents bribing our kid to win:) Here are some highlights of the game!!

Always an Aggie but...

2008-09-09T02:18:00.000-06:00

I will always be an Aggie at heart, but we have started to get into Utah football (more Brooks than me of course:). We went to the Utah football game on Saturday night with Brooks dad and it was really fun. There was soooooo many people there. I have never seen so much red and so many anti-BYU fans in my life. We all enjoyed some good old hot dogs and cotton candy. It was a little long for the kids and I knew it was going to be when 5 minutes after we got there Will was asking if it was almost over and we had to tell him it hadn't even begun. On the way to the game we say a biker that was laying on the ground because he had been hit by a car so that was way sad. Other than that it was a great night and I hope we can do it again soon:)

BRIGHT PICTURE!!

So interested in the game:)

Another Halle moment!

2008-09-03T00:40:00.000-06:00

Today I was cleaning the house and put Halle's baby stuff in her room. She came up the stairs and asked me where her baby stuff was and I told her I put it in her room. She looked in her room and then walked up to me and as she pointed her finger and pushed it in my leg she said it was none of my business. What an attitude right? I thought it was funny. She already acts just like her dad:)

2008-09-01T21:48:00.000-06:00

Halle said the cutest thing today. We went to TJMaxx today and we were getting ready to leave and we walked by the men's underwear section and she says whoo whoo to one of the guys on the package. It was so funny I couldn't stop laughing and just had to write it down:)

SUMMER OVER:(

2008-08-29T15:07:00.001-06:00

We have had a great summer and I have been kind of bummed that it is all over. Brooks started school this week which means it is back to the boring life. We got Will signed up for soccer and his games start on the 13th of this month. That should be pretty fun and interesting. We went and got him a soccer ball and soccer stuff that he got to pick out. He had a Puma shirt at home so he choose the Puma stuff to match his shirt. We are trying to get back into the swing of things so I am going to try to be better about blogging. I thought these were cute pictures from this summer:)

FISHING FUN!

2008-08-17T03:14:00.000-06:00

Brooks got back from his trip this week and had a great time. He ended up getting a little sea sick and having to wear one of those patches to help him not be sick the whole time. They got some great bloody fish(YUM:)! They got to go to Vegas the first night and then headed to San Diego. He hasn't stopped telling me stories about the trip since he has been back. I guess that means he had a lot of fun. We were sure glad he was back. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Cheesy moment!!

2008-08-10T17:36:00.000-06:00

I have been the worst blogger lately. We have been super busy that I haven't even thought about blogging. I do have to tell everyone that I have the best husband ever. I was totally sick last night and he just stepped right in and saved the day. He totally took care of the kids even though he didn't get to bed until 4 in the morning trying to get some school stuff done. He let me sleep in and took care of the kids for me all day today. I am glad I have a husband that will help me out when I need him. He left today to go on a fishing trip in San Diego and I realized how lucky I am to have such a great husband and dad (please excuse the cheesiness).

2008-07-31T19:53:00.000-06:00

So we are officially going to have to be Ute fans since we will be transferring to the University of Utah. We are really sad to not be going back to see all our friends, but are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead of us. We have been searching for apartments and have been so busy:) This will be the 6th place we have lived in 5 years yeah for us ha ha:) Maybe we will actually get to stay in an apartment for more than a year which will be a new experience for us.

FAMILY FUN

2008-07-22T21:54:00.001-06:00

We had a great weekend in Island Park. We went up to my brother-in-laws cabin and spent the weekend with my family (well most of them). We left on Thursday and got home on SundayThe boys got to go fishing every morning and caught several fish. We went to Yellowstone and got to see Old Faithfull and the hot spots. We also saw a buffalo, elk, a bald eagle, and a fox. We also got to go see this really cool bear and wolf place in West Yellowstone that was my favorite because the bears were huge and they were so close to us. It was so awesome. Brooks favorite part of the trip was when my little sister went fishing with the boys one day and hooked Jim (my brother-in-law) in the ear (sorry Rachel it was too funny). The hook went all the way through his ear and it was dangling from his ear like an Elton John ear ring. My dad had to cut it and then pull it out his ear. Besides that, it was super fun. Will and Halle's favorite part was riding the lawn mover train around the cabin and down to the lake. We got to relax, play cards, and just hang out. Thanks Jim for letting us come up. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Sorry about the picture overload:)

Will bored waiting for Old Faithful.

Our family at Mesa Falls

The bear and wolf center.

The lawn mower train!!

GOOD OLD MEMORIES!!

2008-07-15T11:00:00.000-06:00

My friend Megan had this on her blog, and I thought it would be fun to do. Don't be shy and play along!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember (it can be about me or Brooks or both)!
--Remember parents, friends, grandparents, and siblings read this (so keep it G-rated!!).

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.