Lucky

We are so LUCKY! We have the 3 cutest kids in the world! Being a parent isn't always the easiest job, but it is one that can be very gratifying when you have kids as cute as this... It has been a crazy week having a newborn in our home. There have been a lot of late nights, tears, tantrums, and change. But today was a good day and I was able to edit some pictures of Alivia I took during the week. I also took some quick pictures of Carson and Kaylee before they left for church. As I was editing them today, I had a chance to sit and think about how lucky I am to be their mom. Even after hard days, I still feel SO blessed! I love these three little munchkins SO much!

Welcoming...

Alivia Marie Bennett

Born March 18, 2011
7:57 a.m.

6 lbs. 10 oz.
20 inches long

And she has hair!

Madison is 9

It's hard for me to believe that it was really 9 years ago that this beautiful girl was born.

February 17
We had Swedish pancakes w/ coconut syrup for breakfast- Madison's choice. (No one complained though. They'd have anything breakfast-style w/ coconut syrup every morning if I'd get up and make it!!)

She couldn't wait to open up her presents. Right after eating, she opened up an art bag, markers and crayons, a jewelry box and a friendship bracelet maker.

She was just a LITTLE bit excited about her markers and crayons. She enjoys anything that has to do with art.

Austin, Mayci and I took some chocolate milk and muffins over to her class that morning. Usually they have treats in the afternoon but I was taking her out of school at lunch time so Justin and I could have a date with her. The chocolate milk was a big hit!

We've decided that we aren't big fans of birthday parties with friends. We now give our children the choice of restraunt to go out to eat with just mom and dad. It gives us more of an opportunity to spend one-on-one time with the birthday child. There's no competing with 5-10 other kids running around our house, adding to the chaos already in our house.

Madison chose to eat at Applebee's. She was glad that they didn't sing to her. They just gave her a dessert. She informed us that she doesn't like being sung to!! Silly girl!

She worked on some puzzles with dad while we waited for lunch and she couldn't stop giggling. It was fun to watch her personality that afternoon!!

She didn't like the cherry! Her dessert didn't have enough chocolate in it either. It's a good thing we had cake later that night. She asked for angel food cake with strawberries and kiwi with some vanilla pudding mixed in it!!! Kind of like a trifle.

We are lucky to have this beautiful little lady in our family!! She keeps us on our toes and helps out more than she'll ever know! She is the best big sister ever!!!

Dance til You Drop

Last night for mutual we had a Stake dance and Austin, Justin and I all got to attend. It was a sock hop and Justin insisted that we dress up for it! I didn't think it was necessary but since Justin is now in the Stake Young Men's presidency, he felt he needed to be more supportive.

We found a few pairs of socks that we though would work for Austin and ended up getting 2 different pairs for him. He chose to wear both pairs. He isn't afraid to be himself, anywhere. I think he had a great time at the dance. He did a great job dancing every slow dance and a one of the dances he danced with a senior!!! We might need to get him signed up for ballroom dance lessons and then he'll impress all of the girls come high school dances!!!
Austin, Pearce, Jayden and Brendan

Justin and I found these socks and he said that we really needed to match. I don't have much to wear that would show off my socks so I opted to wear a skirt. Justin dressed up in his dress slacks also and then rolled his pants up. He looked a little like a leprachaun.

What can I say except, "We're goofy!!" We enjoyed ourselves though. We got in about 4 slow dances and I came home VERY tired! It was worth it though. I got to hang out with my best friend!!

They had prizes for different things during the dance. One category was the most colors and Austin was in the running for that. The other was the most crazy socks. Since Austin had on 2 pairs of socks, he won that contest and got chocolate out of the deal. (Austin is the one on the right, striped shirt!)

It was a fun night and I can't wait for the next dance in the fall! Next year Braydon will be joining us on all these fun dances! What fun we'll have then!

Special Night In

This is how we spent our Valentine's Day this year-
Madison made name cards for everyone and she did a wonderful job with her cursive! (When I asked Madison to make the cards, she asked me what they were for. When I told her we were decorating our table for dinner she asked, "Oh, are we have a decent dinner tonight?" I laughed and corrected her that we are having a 'fancy' dinner, not a 'decent dinner. I wonder what she thinks of all of our other meals??!)

Austin and Mayci

Madison and Kenzie

Braydon with our bottle of bubbly!

My sweetheart and me! Oh, how I love him!!

Our dinner for the night consisted of Cordon Bleu Casserole, green tossed salad, beets and Fruit Pizza. My kids said that we need to have a dinner like that every night. I don't know if they said that because the food was SO delicious or if it was because of the candles we had on the table. I'm thinking it's the candles. (Funny thing on the candles. The only ones we could find were the little black ones we bought for Halloween to put in our pumpkins. No one complained though.)

I truly have the BEST family ever. They are so willing to help out around the house (anywhere for that matter), they have great imaginations, they play well with each other and they are so good at doing things to make me smile.

Justin is the greatest dad ever. He knows just what to say to keep everyone around our house calm when mom isn't as calm. He has a positive attitude which helps smooth out any rough mornings. He know when to step in and take over when mom gets overwhelmed (that seems all too often lately). He is a hard worker and we don't hear him complain very much, if ever. He does a great job completing me and covering all of my weaknesses.

Happy Valentine's Day to the most amazing family ever!! I love you!!

Oh Shoot!!

We don't lack for things to do around our house. If we ever do get bored at our house, our kids tend to find something else that will keep us busy outside of our house.

Braydon managed to get involved with the Hoop Shoot at his school and the next thing we know, we're heading to a local high school for the day. We spent the day watching all of the younger ones shoot first and then finally got to Braydon's age group.

Braydon is the one in the blue shirt towards the back.
Mayci spent the afternoon practicing her dribble. She actually got pretty good after awhile. It was fun to watch her with the ball.

I will admit, it was a long afternoon. Especially after spending 4 hours on those really hard bleachers.

We hoped Braydon would have taken 1st place but he left the Hoop Shoot taking 4th place. Not bad for someone who doesn't shoot everyday.

Braydon's 11th Birthday

My Braydon is 11 now!!

This is a little strange sounding to me. I still think he is my 9 year old and I have a few more years before he is in Young Men's. That's not the case though. He's now in the Boy Scouts as an 11 yr old and loves being into everything else he can be in. He loves helping out with things at the school and even helps with serving lunch every Tuesday at the school. He loves sports, plunking around on the piano, playing games, teasing, being competitive, being outside, and my favorite, giving his mom hugs!

With Braydon's birthday so close to Christmas, we try and have Christmas all taken down before his birthday comes around. This year we didn't get it taken down until the day of his birthday since the 26th was Sunday.

We grilled up some elk steak and had mashed potatoes for lunch. Braydon's request. I felt bad because we spent most of the day cleaning/organizing the house. Justin had the day off and the boys were all going to go shooting guns. The wind was blowing too hard to go shooting though. We decided that we'd go shooting on January 1 in Bear Lake and he was good with that.

We got him a nice watch for his birthday and he got a leatherman kind of tool from G&G Pugmire and piano books from G&G Brower. We decided to take both him and Austin out for their birthday and went on Wednesday, Dec 29th to Olive Garden. We went for lunch and the boys ate TONS!!! We even came home with some of the food. It was just fun spending time with each other!
Braydon, Brandon and Kenzie waiting for the ok to open presents!

These 3 boys are pretty cool boys. Don't get me wrong, there are days that these 3 together means trouble. For the most part though, they're not bad to hang out with!

Kenzie got the bow off of Braydon's box. What a silly girl! She makes me laugh most days.

That night after dinner and oreo icecream pie, Braydon wanted to play some games and so we got out Jenga that we got for Christmas. The kids started playing by themselves at first and were playing it a little wrong. Then Justin and I came and showed them how to play, the correct way.

We got 29 rows, if I remember right. The boys were kind of impressed with our results!

Mayci really wanted to knock the tower over a time or two.

Happy Birthday Braydon! You are one of a kind and we love you for that!