First Half of September

Peaches are on!! This was the day we celebrated Benson's birthday, a Saturday. After cake and presents, we brought out his bouncy ball and balance bike to try out. He found a peach that had fallen off the tree and went to town. Juice dripping down his arms, in his overalls....just such a perfect moment. Lindy joined in on the fun, following in his footsteps.



Jeremy Lis....So many things I could write. Jeremy is basically the reason Richie and I met. Jeremy and I met in St. George the summer before I came up to BYU-Idaho. We became fast friends and he helped me get settled at college. We decided to help each other find dates. He immediately thought I'd like his roommate, Richie. :) Richie and Jeremy talk on the phone every few months, which by Richie's standards, is a lot. He's probably Richie's best guy friend. But since he lives in Wisconsin, we haven't seen him in probably 10 years. The stars aligned, and he was in the area for a wedding or something. So he came to our house and we talked, and talked and talked. It was insanely good to see him.


More pictures of my one-on-one time with Benson on Wednesdays. Color baths, trips to new libraries, PB&J's cut into cool shapes...it's all very fun. It reminds me of when I just had Miles and Gwen, and the simplicity and sweetness of it all. And how tiring 2 littles can be, let's be honest.



Are you kidding me with this Davy cuteness right now???


The kids are involved in lots of extra curricular things. We sign up for extra "unit studies" through Canyon Grove as we feel capable. This first session was Frisbee Golf, Face Painting, and Fishing. They have really loved it. I've been nervous for Lindy who seems so young every time I send her off on the bus. I'm so glad she has her older 2 siblings to watch out for her. Miles and Gwen are also doing a P.E. class for homeschoolers at the Rec Center on Tuesdays all year. They are loving it. These two things require that they get their school work done fairly early in the day. It's proving to be challenging, but they are rising to it. We also have a nature study/science homeschool co-op on Thursdays. We are spending as much time outside as possible! It's been a real change of pace from the homeschool groups we have done previously...so it's taking a little getting used to, but it's good.



Carmen and Carl-Again, so much to say here... The Anderson family is "the" family Richie baptized on his mission. We've kept in touch over the years and they are truly wonderful people. Their adopted son Thomas decided to serve a mission and got sent to the SLC mission!! So they came out here from Texas for a month to take him through the temple, missionary shopping, drop him off at the MTC...all that jazz. So we've got to see them quite a few times, including Richie going through the temple with them up in Logan, and being with them as they were sealed together. So Awesome! They came to visit on of Richie's seminary classes and chat with hit students. It's all coming full circle and it's amazing. It's crazy to think that Richie and I, right now, are how old Carmen and Carl were when Richie met them on his mission. We have a 10 year old and an 8 year old, just like they did. And now their son is going on a mission. Crazy.



Our neighbors down the road built the cutest "Free Little Library". Look it up, it's a thing. The kids have been running up and down the street constantly since then. Putting some of our old books in it, taking new ones out. What a great way to get to know your neighbors, promote reading, and provide a service. I want one!


Harvest Time!! We're up to our ears in produce! Late night canning sessions are the norm. I love it. It's almost done now though. I can feel it slowing down. I love that part too. :)



Everyday happenings. Can't remember which pictures I added here. I know there's one of a grumpy Gwen, Lindy working on her letters, a normal, wonderful morning scene with all 5 of my beautiful children eating breakfast-one of those moments where it just hits me how blessed I am. A "late-over" Gwen threw because she was feeling sad that we don't do sleepovers (her first time really feeling the sting of that rule) So we had about a bazillion girls over to watch the new "Aladdin" and eat ice cream. :) An activity days, where we talked about including everyone and being bucket fillers- we played "reverse musical chairs". Instead of someone being left out every time, in this game you take a chair away every time, but have to find a way to include every girl in the circle still.

Benson turns 3

As we pulled up to the dinosaur museum to celebrate Benson's 3rd birthday, I realized that the last time we went to the dinosaur museum was to celebrate Benson turning TWO! ha! He still loves dinosaurs, and still thought it was super cool. They had some updated things for the kids to do, and everyone had a good time. We invited the Holbrooks to come with us since I'd say their boy Riggin is the closest thing Benson has to a friend at this point. Benson loves to run up to him and give him hugs whenever he sees him outside. :) It's plenty adorable.


We had them come over afterward to enjoy some cake and ice cream. Having other people over always helps things feel more festive. :) I made him a dinosaur fossil finding cake. :) Just white chocolate dinosaur molds pressed into the cake and covered with crumbly stuff to brush away. I think he thought it was cool???? I tried anyway. We snagged him a bounce-on-ball that a neighbor was getting rid of, and a balance bike, so he can learn to keep up with the rest of the kids. :)


Sunday was his actual birthday, so he got his #3 pancake that morning before church. He told everyone in nursery that it was his birthday today and he was 3! :) That night we celebrated him, Makenna and McKenna! 3 birthdays that first week of September. He was beyond ecstatic with every present he opened. I've never heard him do this squeal thing...but every single present blew his mind and he'd let out a high pitched squeal. I was in tears from laughing so hard.


Oh Benson Bear...What would we do without you? We'd probably have a little more money in our bank account, and a little less crazy twitching...but we'd miss out on so much sweetness, and silliness, and curiosity. You are such a smart boy. You love to read books, and you love to investigate things and how they work. You love to laugh and dance. You love to wrestle and give giant bear hugs and climb on my back when I'm kneeling down. You love spending one-on-one time with people. You love being outside. You are adventurous and aren't afraid to get dirty. You are 100% all boy and the sweetest 3 year old around. We love you SO much!!

Second Half Of August

The kids had very much been looking forward to their first day of Canyon Grove Academy. Lindy was especially excited because this was her first year. I took the kids "Back to School" shopping and told them that I would bankroll them $20 (they recently had to start buying all of their own clothing, so me giving them $20 for clothes was a big deal), and anything over $20, they'd have to pay for. I was so rewarding to watch them wander through Target very carefully considering costs. They all stayed under budget! Anyway...They laid out their outfits, we took pictures that morning, drove to the school....and it was closed. I had the dates mixed up. Classic me. They were so disappointed. So to soften the blow I decided to take them to a limited time museum up in SLC called "Love Letters", that I'd been wanting to go see. It's all about how cool the written word is. Typography, stories, all that jazz. It was pricey, but well worth the cost. The kid's minds were blown and it was such a fun way to spend a day!!



The next week they actually did have their first day of Canyon Grove. I took an extra picture of Lindy because it was her very first day of Kindergarten! I was nervous for her all day, but I think having two older siblings near by, and having it be on such a small scale really helped. She is loving it so far. We also had our "Back to School" feast. We haven't done a family theme for the past couple of years, so we got back in that habit this year and chose "And Jesus Grew in Wisdom, and in Stature, and in Favor with God and Man." We're hoping to use it throughout the year to give us guidance in how and what we teach our kids; to help them grow and develop like Christ.


One of the MANY benefits to homeschooling is going to the normally crazy busy park, while all the other kids are in school. :) The kids ask to go to this specific park near our house all summer long. I always say no, because it's so chaotic! I can't handle it. So I told them as soon as the other kids were back in school, we'd go. It was a nice incentive and motivator as we got through our first week or so of school.


All on his own, Richie set up a date, DOWNTOWN SLC, for us. That's a big deal. Richie just called me from work one day, and said he had a sitter lined up and that we were going dancing in SLC that night. :) Best call ever. He hates going downtown, but I enjoy the change of pace, so he was nice to humor me. We had a lovely time dancing and people watching. I can't decide which is better!


Gwen took it upon herself to plan our FHE other night. She remembered Miles planning one (year ago) that was a scavenger hunt of sorts. So she put one together throughout our neighborhood, which ended with us finding the movie "Annie" to watch, which the kids are really into right now. We stopped at Gil and Carole's house to say hi, and found that Gil had handmade a frame, and framed 3 painted Coffee filters the kids had made and delivered to him a couple of months ago. I had no idea he had done this, so when I saw it hanging in the garage, I was blown away by his sweetness. We love those guys.


To put it nicely, Benson is precocious. To put it plainly, he can be a really cute pain in the butt. Definitely my most mischievous kid. Like a little Curious George. Gets into all sorts of trouble, but you can't help but forgive him and love him cause he's so cute! Some of his favorite lately are using dental floss, or toilet paper, or yarn etc and stringing it all throughout the house to make "nets" and "webs". Sometimes I stop him because it's a nuisance to have to traipse around all the string, but most of the time I just let him do it because it's less destructive than other options. For instance...shoving a comb down the toilet. (We got it out with a snake) Or, shoving an entire tube of toothpaste in the toilet. (We didn't get it out, and had to put in a whole new toilet. Honestly, we were thrilled that we had to replace the old toilet. It was on it's last leg and getting really annoying. But still, another "big" expense we weren't ready for.Thanks Benson. :)


With the older three at Canyon Grove all day Wednesdays, it gives me time to be with just Benson and Davy. We are all loving it so much. It really provides us with a wonderful change of pace and I get to direct most of my attention to Benson, which he needs so much. It's amazing how his behavior changes when he has more attention. He's happier, more obedient...it's all around so good. I try to plan specific activities to help him learn. His favorite thing so far is when I cut his PB&J sandwich into a teddy bear with a cookie cutter. He feels so special. :) I love remembering what it was like to have just 2 littles. Sweet and Simple.


The rest of the pictures are just everyday things or school things, all mushed together here at the end. One specific thing pictured here is our new tradition of Poetry Tea Time or "The Finer Things Club" on Fridays. It's been a fun way to sneak in a little art/music/language arts study. :)